Charmed Child: A Mermaid Story
by Kurisuta
Summary: When the daughter of a Charmed One comes into contact with a child of the Niwa bloodline, strange things begin to happen! Oh yes and orbing is teleporting, for those of you who don't know.
1. Punishment

**Punishment**

_Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice._

_-Nora Roberts_

"Do you guys honestly think you can keep me away from the sea?" I said angrily from the bathtub.

"Pandora, you are staying in that bathtub until we find a spell to give you legs again," my mom said irritably.

"Bad news, Aunt Paige," said my cousin Chris. "The only way to turn her human is for her to find love."

"Ha!" I laughed from the tub. "That's the reason I became a mermaid in the first place. I'm cold-hearted now…and I'll never love again!"

"Let me see," Mom read the book silently. "We can turn her human for three weeks. If she doesn't find love then she'll turn back."

"Come on! Land for three whole weeks?" I exclaimed.

***

I was so annoyed the next day. I was at school, and on two legs again. The bell rang.

I got up from my seat and walked right into the guy in front of me. It was the same boy I was trying to avoid because I thought he was cute. He fell forward and dropped his books.

"Oh shoot!" I exclaimed. "I'm sorry."

I leaned over and picked up some of his books but he was already almost out the door. I ran over and grabbed his wrist. Immediately I got a premonition.

I saw him being pushed off a roof by Marco, my ex.

"N-No!" I yelled and threw the books against the wall.

"Are you okay?" the boy had turned when I grabbed his wrist, so he must have seen the look on my face when I saw the premonition.

"I'm fine," I said, gathering the books and handing them to him. "I'm new here. My name is Pandora."

"I'm Daisuke," he replied.

"Well, I'm sorry for my outburst," I said. "Oh and don't go on any rooftops."


	2. The Roof

**2. The Roof**

I made pains to never see Daisuke again. I wasn't going to let myself fall in love and lose my immortality. Unfortunately, however, I kept seeing him in the hallways. Every time I saw him, his eyes were sad. I wondered if he was always like that, or if something bad had happened to him.

We may have never become friends, however, if it hadn't been for my ex-boyfriend Marco.

I was cutting class on the roof, and Daisuke was sent to get me to come back to class. I guess the teachers thought I would listen to him since he was the only person I had spoken to since I had started school there.

"Pandora," he said, coming up the stairs. "The teacher wants you to come back downstairs."

"Tell her to call my parents," I said in a sarcastic tone.

"Why are you running away?" he asked me.

"I already ran away," I replied. "They found me. This is just a temporary escape."

That's when Marco showed up.

"Pandora!" he exclaimed. "I heard you were back. Took me a while to find you."

I considered my options at this point. My ex was coming towards me and was probably going to either punch me or kiss me, depending on his mood. I could use my powers, but Daisuke was there and he was an innocent. And there was that premonition I had had.

I stood, preparing to grab Daisuke and orb us both somewhere safe, but my ex grabbed me by the wrists.

"What are you doing?" Daisuke said, surprisingly coming forward to stop Marco.

Unfortunatly, Marco made a motion and Daisuke fell backwards. He would have fallen off the roof, but he caught himself. I breathed easier, but I wasn't out of trouble.

"Come back to me, Pandora," Marco said. I avoided eye contact with him. "I still love you."

"That's not love," I replied. "You controlled me. You forced me to love you. And I'll never forgive you!"

"Why don't you just orb away from me, like usual?" he whispered. "You can't. It's because of that innocent over there isn't it?"

He released me, but pushed me to the ground, so it took me a moment to get up. And in that moment, he pushed Daisuke off the roof.

***

Without thinking, I orbed myself to Daisuke's location, which was in freefall. Once I caught hold of him, I orbed us both to the ground.

He had passed out.

I sat down on the ground next to him. "Come on, wake up! Please wake up…"

Unfortunatly, it was right then that the sky decided to open. It poured rain.

When you are a mermaid in human form, water is a bad thing. I immediately turned back. That's when Daisuke's eyes opened.

"Pandora?" he said. "Why am I still alive?"

"Because you weren't meant to die yet," I found myself saying. "I have to go. But I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay? You're going to be alright."

I orbed home.


	3. Family Discussions

**3. Family Discussions**

Daisuke had a severe headache that afternoon. He went over it all in his mind, and it still didn't make sense.

He remembered being pushed off a roof, then being in freefall, then he remembered being grabbed out of the air and then…darkness, he must have passed out…and he woke up on the ground. Pandora was with him then. She must have somehow caught him or something.

He shook his head. He couldn't make any sense of it.

He arrived at home. He went in and was met by his mother. Everyone had been so nice to him since the Harada twins had moved away, but he knew they were disappointed a little bit that he hadn't recovered yet.

"Hey Honey!" exclaimed his mom. "Anything interesting happen at school?"

Daisuke smiled a little bit. "Yeah, Mom."

"What happened?"

"I…made a friend. Her name is Pandora."

"That's great!" his mom said. "Have you felt Dark at all?"

Daisuke looked down. That was another thing. Since the twins had moved, he could hear Dark in his thoughts but couldn't become him anymore.

***

"You orbed him?!" Mom exclaimed. "You are only fifteen! He's not your charge, and you're not his Whitelighter!"

"But Mom…" I trailed off. I couldn't explain what really happened without explaining about Marco, and I didn't want Mom to know that I had been stupid enough to date a warlock.

"But this is good, you're finding love," she said.

"No, Mom," I protested stubbornly. "We're just friends, and I saved him from dying. That doesn't mean I'm in love with him. I'm not giving up my life underwater for some guy I just met."

"I brought your aunt to talk to you," replied my mother.

"Hey, Pandora, still in the bathtub, huh?" Aunt Pheobe smiled at me. "I did the same thing when I was younger. Tried becoming a mermaid to run away. My problems found me, and your problems will find you."

She tapped my nose.

"Quit that," I said irritably.

"How did he fall off the roof, anyway?" Mom asked.

"He's…just clumsy I guess," I replied.


	4. Charge

I was back in my human form again, and sleeping that night. Suddenly I woke up.

I was in a dark room, in…the museum?

I got up, and attempted to orb back home, but I returned to the same spot.

"What's keeping me here?" I wondered aloud.

I turned and looked at the piece of artwork displayed in its glass case. I wanted to see if maybe it had any magical properties that were drawing me to it. But no, it was just the Chalice of Sorrows.

I heard someone coming. Security? This late? No orbing, so I'd have to hide. I hid randomly behind the display case.

Someone came in, but he wasn't security. He was dressed all in black. It was a guy, I could tell. He proceeded to disarm all the alarms on the Chalice and take it out. He was stealing it.

I felt my orbing come back. I tried to go home, but ended up on the roof instead.

The same guy came running onto the roof a few seconds later, but this time he had black wings. I stood in his way.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"I'm Phantom Thief Dark," he replied.

"Oh, well fine then, you can go," I said, sighing.

"What? Wait a second! Who are you?" he asked me.

"I'm…trying to figure out why I can't go anywhere," I replied, not really answering his question. "You're a magical being, I assume, have you ever heard of a Whitelighter that keeps orbing to the wrong place?"

"You're a Whitelighter?" Dark asked. "I got stuck with a newbie, didn't I?"

"Oh no," I said. "You're my charge."


	5. Fear of Water

**5. Fear of Water**

**A/N: ****_Dark thinking. Daisuke thinking._**

"Ugh…well then hopefully I'll be allowed to leave now," I said. "If you need me, then just call."

"Why would I need a Whitelighter?" Dark replied. "I never asked the Elders for any help, and besides, I thought they hated me."

"They hate me too," I said. "That must be why I'm stuck with you. Anyway, if you're ever hurt, or being attacked, or something, I'm supposed to help you. Unfortunately, however, since I'm human, I can still be hurt. But I do have Whitelighter and witch magic on my side. Anyway, in two weeks I'll be gone so don't worry about it."

And with that I orbed home.

***

Daisuke's head was spinning. Definitely.

Dark had tried to explain about Whitelighters and witches last night, but it had only confused him more.

Pandora was apparently supposed to protect Dark from any kind of trouble, and heal him when he was injured. But, what did she mean by, 'in two weeks I'll be gone'?

Daisuke was so lost in his thoughts that he almost tripped over Pandora, who was sitting in the hallway reading…something.

"What are you reading?" he asked her.

She jumped a little. "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I love the final chapter…it scares me to death." She smiled. "One of the few things I'll miss."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going back home," she looked happy at the mention of it.

"When? Why? You just…got here…"

A kid tripped over Pandora and spilled water all over her feet. She jumped up immediately, narrowly missing hitting Daisuke in the head with her elbow, and ran off.

Daisuke stood and ran after her. But she was gone.

_**She probably orbed herself home.**_

_You're right…what does orbing mean again?_

_**Teleporting. Sort of.**_

_Should I follow her? She seemed really upset, maybe she's afraid of water…?_

_**That's not what it looked like to me. You need to find out what she meant when she said 'I'm going back home.'**_


	6. Premonition

**6. Premonition**

"Ugh…" I muttered to myself. "I hate having to worry about every drop of water!"

I wore close toed shoes for protection from dew. I had socks on too. No way was I getting wet today.

The sprinkler went off.

I made a face, and walked around it. Then I felt someone's eyes on me. I turned and saw Satoshi Hiwatari.

I slipped on the wet grass and grabbed his arm to keep from falling. Of course, then I had a premonition. I saw Satoshi grab my charge-Dark-and pin him against a wall.

I released his arm.

_I don't have to tell Dark_, I thought. _He said he didn't want my help anyway…but what if he gets hurt? It'll be my fault for not helping him when I knew he would be in trouble. It's my duty as his Whitelighter._

Suddenly, I felt a strange pull. I was…being called. But it wasn't Dark, it was…Daisuke?


	7. Underworld

**7. Underworld**

"I'm sorry, Satoshi," I said. "But I have to go."

"Did someone _call _you?" he asked me in a suspicious voice.

"Yes. Someone did," I said coldly, angry at him for getting in my way. "I have to leave now. I'll see you another time."

He didn't reply, just stared at me.

_What does he know_? I wondered.

I ran behind the school and orbed to Daisuke's location.

"It had to be a train…" I muttered. I was on the top of the train, barely balanced.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed.

"How did I get up here?" Daisuke asked me. "I was at school, and now I'm on a random train!"

"I…can't really explain that to you right now!" I said. "Just grab my hand so we can…stay balanced."

I intended on orbing out of there once I had a good grip on him. I reached for him, and caught his arm, and then orbed, but something must have intercepted my orbing, because I fell into the Underworld, with Daisuke right next to me.


	8. The Cage

**8. The Cage**

"Where are we, Pandora?" Daisuke asked me.

"I don't know, but we're leaving," I replied, about to grab his arm and orb out, but I tripped and fell. Two demons grabbed me and shoved me into a cage and shut the door.

I tried to orb out, but just hit my head against the bars.

"Daisuke! Run!" I yelled, but the demons were surrounding him.

***

Daisuke _wanted _to run, but there were a bunch of guys surrounding him in a circle. What was he supposed to do? He could always turn into Dark!

***

The demons closed in on Daisuke, and then there was a blast of light—magic?—and the demons went flying. Yes! Maybe one of my annoying relatives had shown up to help!

But Daisuke was gone. Instead, Dark was there. What was going on?

"Let me out of this cage and tell me what's going on! When did you get here?" I exclaimed.

"I thought the Whitelighters were supposed to help the charges, not the other way around," Dark said, smiling.

"What did you do with Daisuke? He can't wander around the underworld by himself! He'll get killed! And let me out of here!"

Dark opened the latch on the cage. I jumped out and something shoved me and Dark back in the cage.

"Not again!" I exclaimed, annoyed.

"Welcome back," said Marco. "It's time I bound your magic, Pandora."


	9. Mermaids and Love

**9. Mermaids and Love**

"You-You have a spell!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, my love, and once you are stripped of your powers, we can be together again," he replied.

I laughed. "You really think…you can bind me? Even if you do, I'm no longer mortal."

"What are you talking about?" Marco asked me.

"That's right. I'm an immortal now. And in two weeks I turn back into a mermaid. What then?" I said softly, angrily.

"What's the cure, witch?" he said angrily.

"Love," I said dramatically. "Love is the cure! And I'm not in love, so ha on the world!"

Marco grabbed a bucket and poured water on me. I transformed, naturally.

"I DESPISE YOU!" Marco yelled, freeing me from the cage. I laughed, grabbed Dark's arm, and orbed us to my house, upstairs of course.

***

"You're a mermaid?" Dark asked me.

"Duh," I replied. "Note, the tail. And where is Daisuke?!"

"I told you, I don't know!" he replied. "You being a mermaid is so…ironic."

"Ironic, how?" I asked.

"Just…ah…never mind," he said. "I'm leaving now."

"How'd you even get down there in the first place?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Fine then." I crossed my arms and turned over on my bed, waiting to change back.

"Goodbye, Dark," I whispered.


	10. Whisper of Romance

**10. A Whisper of Romance**

_How is it ironic that she's a mermaid, Dark? _Daisuke asked his alter-ego that evening while sitting on his bed.

_**Mermaids are immortal, **_Dark replied. _**But there's supposed to be a spell that can be cast to make them human. If it's cast, then they can only remain human if they fall in love. Which, since their hearts are cold as ice, is virtually impossible.**_

_That sounds like my…situation. I have to get the girl I love to love me back._

_**Exactly. Which is why I said it was ironic, because she doesn't want to fall in love. She's like your opposite, Daisuke.**_

___Not really. _

_**Why did you call her? On the train, I mean.**_

___She was…the first person I thought of. I didn't know she'd come. She's your Whitelighter, not mine, right?_

_**I don't know, we are basically the same person, so…**_

___What?! She could totally find out about us, Dark!! If she starts coming everytime I think about her… _Daisuke shut his eyes and tried not to think, but Dark's voice burst in his mind anyway.

_**It doesn't work like that. You have to call her. Why would you be thinking about her anyway? Do you like her?**_

___What?! Of course not!!_

***

I was shocked when I saw Daisuke at school the next day.

"D-Daisuke?" I stammered. "Do you remember…?"

"Remember what?" he asked me, then smiled, walking off.

"Come back!" I yelled. "You can't do that! There's no way you could've forgotten unless…"

I orbed home.

"Mom did you erase Daisuke Niwa's memory?" I asked her in my no-nonsense voice.

"Why would I do that?" She suddenly grabbed me by the collar. "What, did you do something to him that would require that?"

"N-No…let go of my shirt, Mom," I said softly. "Well then maybe he thinks it was a dream…I'll just have to prove it."

"The Elders are going to kill you!"

"I'll just come back as a real Whitelighter and haunt them forever."

I orbed back to school and returned to class.


	11. Truth and Secrets

**11. Truth and Secrets**

"Daisuke!" I caught up with him after school.

"What is it?" he asked.

I stopped. How would I tell him? I looked at him. He was my friend, right? There was no way he would tell anyone that I was a witch…would he?

"Pandora? Are you okay?" asked Daisuke, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Huh? What?" I said, shaking myself. "Daisuke…I have a secret…"

I grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind the school.

"Yesterday, I saved you from a train…" I said. "And after that…we ended up in the Underworld and…oh yeah, and I'm a witch."

"I know," he replied.

"What?" I asked, surprised. "You…know? Did you remember?"

"Yes…I did!" he said, for some reason he sounded nervous.

"Well then, how did you get back home? I couldn't find you, and I wasn't in any shape to look for you…so I was worried."

"W-Well I just…" stuttered Daisuke. "I can't really explain how I got home."

"Please, Daisuke," I said. "It can hardly be any different then magic."

Daisuke looked away from me.

"Pandora, I…I gotta go!" exclaimed Daisuke suddenly. He ran away from me, around the school building, and was gone.

***

Daisuke barely made it to the courtyard before he had transformed into Dark.

_This is the first time I've transformed at school since the Harada twins moved away, _Daisuke thought.

_**So you do like her. I knew it. You do know that Whitelighters aren't allowed to fall for their charges, and you are technically her charge.**_

___So…I'm not allowed to like her?_

_**No, she's just not allowed to like you. At least, that's what I've heard. Anyway, you better get out of here before someone sees you.**_


	12. Hearts and Stars

**12. Hearts and Stars**

I remembered my premonition that night. So instead of going to bed, I dressed in black and orbed myself to the museum. I looked around…it was the same room as the one I had seen.

I heard footsteps, and flattened myself against the wall.

"I know you're here," said the voice of Satoshi. What was he doing here, anyway?

I went over my options. If Satoshi found me, what would he do? I considered orbing home, but my premonition that Dark was going to get caught kept me from that.

"You aren't Dark," Satoshi said, coming around the corner. "Pandora, what are you doing here?"

"Would you believe nothing at all?" I said softly, deciding to play innocent. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not if you help me catch Dark," Satoshi smiled, but it wasn't a real smile. Something told me he didn't smile for real that often.

"Wait a second," I said. "You want to use me. No. You can't. I won't allow that."

All of a sudden Dark came around the same corner. "Leave the girl alone, Hiwatari."

"I can take care of myself," I said, annoyed. But of course, that's when my premonition became reality. Satoshi pinned Dark against a wall.

But fortunately, Dark had it under control and pulled free. "I've already gotten what I came for. But I need her."

He randomly picked me up bridal-style and flew out the window.

***

"Stay away from him," Dark said to me.

"What are you doing?" I asked indignatly. "You can't order me around, I'm your Whitelighter! I went in there because I had a premonition and I thought you were going to get captured!"

"Will you just _listen _to me?" Dark said. "I don't want you getting hurt!"

"Nice sentiment, but I can take care of myself," I replied coldly.

"Sure," Dark replied. "So what would you have done if I hadn't come and saved you?"

"I—" I stopped talking for a moment. "Dark…what did you steal today?"

"_Hearts and Stars,"_ he replied. "It's a really small painting…why?"

"It…It's nothing I think…but I…" I stopped talking suddenly.

I reached up and kissed him.


	13. The End?

**13. The End**

Dark immediately pulled away from me and flew off. I stood there, shaking.

I orbed home and sat down heavily on my bed.

"N-no! No, no, no!" I exclaimed, kicking my desk. "That wasn't real…was it?"

"What wasn't real?" my mom came in my room.

"N-Nothing," I said.

"Are you in love?" she asked softly.

"NO!" I exclaimed. "Ugh…I need to go somewhere."

I orbed myself onto the sidewalk. I started walking down the road, and found myself back at the museum. To my surprise, I walked in on some kind of magical battle between Dark and a white-winged angelic figure.

I ran up to Dark and got next to him, preparing to fight. He turned and saw me, and he looked completely shocked.

***

Dark backed away from her. He knew he was about to transform into Daisuke, but what could he do?

Krad shot at him, and he dodged, but ran into Pandora. He turned—and his face was inches from hers! She was under the influence of the painting again…her lips brushed his cheek. He transformed instantly into Daisuke.

***

I backed off. "D-Daisuke…" I felt like I was coming out of a trance.

A blast of energy went past my shoulder. The white angel was advancing on us.

I pulled out a knife, but Daisuke grabbed my arm.

"No!" he said. "That's Satoshi."

"What?" I was almost confused. Suddenly I was shot with a blast of energy from the white angel. I was shot through the window and fell down to the grass.

I immediately orbed myself in front of Daisuke, despite my injuries. Dark was my charge, and Daisuke was Dark, so Daisuke was my charge, too. I stood in front of him and zapped the white angel the way I'd seen my uncle do it.

"Get out of the way, Whitelighter!" yelled the angel.

"Never!" I exclaimed. "I won't let you harm my charge!"

"He'll kill you! Go somewhere else, Pandora! I'll be fine!" Daisuke said to me.

"Shut up! You don't know what you're saying!" I exclaimed. "I can come back! You can't!"

The white angel shot at me, and this time the blast hit me full on. He hit me three more times with his energy before I fell backwards, and Daisuke caught my falling body.

***

I woke up in the sky, Whitelighter Headquarters.

"You've finally done it, Pandora Mitchell," said the Head Elder. "You're dead."


End file.
